The issue of whether to re-nationalize the Swedish school system will be high on the agenda when the National Union of Teachers in Sweden (Lärarnas Riksförbund) convenes for its annual conference in Stockholm on Friday.

Prior to the conference, the union conducted a survey of 1,000 teachers and 1,000 parents of school age children.

Participants in the survey were asked whether they believed the quality of the education system would improve if the state was given more responsibility for the country’s schools.

Eight out of ten teachers and almost half of parents answered in the affirmative.

With the survey results in mind, the union’s governing board will propose that the union should actively pursue a policy by which the state would exert a greater influence over schools.

The union will also call on the government to commission an official report into the effects of the decision to place control over schools in the hands of local councils rather than the state.

The controversial decision to allow councils more control over local schools was initiated by then Minister for Schools Göran Persson in 1989.